The history of the Rugby World Cup dates back to 1950s with the ideas of commencing a tournament popped up in the minds of many. In 1968, the International Rugby Board rejected the idea of a competition that resembled a world cup. Later, the idea was implemented after 1980 and in 1983, Australia put a proposal that mentioned their willingness to host the first rugby world cup.
In the meeting held to discuss the issue, majority opposed the idea and only Australia, New Zealand and France supported it. When the vote was held South Africa, along with England and Wales voted in favor of it. This was a great back up for the official world cup, which was held in 1987.
Around 32 matches were played in the 1987 world cup that was held from May 22 to June 20. One African nation, three Americas nations, one Asian nation, seven European nations and four Oceanic nations participated in the Australia world cup. The tournament became all blacks rugby with New Zealand winning the final rugby match.
The success of the Australian world cup motivated the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) to conduct it every four years. The 1991 world cup was hosted by Great Britain, Ireland and France and Australian rugby team grabbed the tournament trophy. The tournament then became the fourth largest national sporting teams tournament in the world.
South Africa hosted the 1995 rugby world cup and it was the first time that all rugby matches was played in a single country. This tournament saw the entry of South Africa and their victory in the rugby world cup. Around 65 nations were attempted in the qualifying round of the 1999 rugby world cup. The tournament was hosted by Wales with matches played in England, France, Scotland and Ireland.
The previous world cup, the 2003 rugby world cup was hosted by Australia. England won the tournament and became the first northern hemisphere nation to win rugby world cup. The tournament attracted thousands of spectators from far and wide and it has now become a much-awaited game for its fans.
Scoring occurs either by achieving a try or a goal. A try is scored when a player places the ball in the opponent's in-goal area. According to the rugby rules, a try is counted as five points and can gain 2 more points with a successful place kick or drop kick. A drop kick in general play and a penalty kick are worth 3 points. It initiates a ban on passing the rugby ball forwards, so that rugby players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it. The rugby game with a continuous flow has a constant competition for the rugby ball at the breakdown. These are called Rucks and Mauls.
The rugby football has two major codes like rugby league and rugby union. The Rugby league, the national sport of Papua New Guinea is played as a professional as well as amateur sport in Australia, France, Great Britain and New Zealand. Rugby union, a major sport played nationwide in Ireland, France, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales and Scotland is also a professional and amateur game.
The rugby is perceived as a rough game and wearing most types of padding and helmets is considered illegal. The rugby players often wear mouth guards and tape down their ears to prevent cauliflower ear.
